This accessible, practical guide will help you through the financial maze of starting up a business, growing it, and even eventually selling it. Expert author Paul Barrow highlights key issues by using case studies of businesses in various fields – both successes and failures – as each grows and takes on different forms of finance. A hands-on guide that does not make assumptions about prior knowledge, "Essential Business Finance" is suitable for the average business owner. Topics covered include: raising start-up finance and early funding, arranging growth finance (both equity and debt), raising money through public offerings, finding, negotiating, buying and funding acquisitions, selling the business. By dealing with both theory and reality and using checklists and pre-prepared documents, it shows you what steps to take to successfully grow, fund, acquire and sell your business.